The conference was opened by National Assembly Speaker Prof. Dr Slavica Djukic-Dejanovic. The importance of the conference is evidenced by the fact that Inter-Parliamentary Union Secretary General Anders B. Johnson also addressed the gathering. The participants were also addressed by Deputy Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia Thomas Moore, UN Resident Coordinator in Serbia William S. Infante and Deputy Head of the Council of Europe Office in Serbia Nadia Cuk.

The conference addressed human rights and the role of parliamentarians, universal human rights protection system, Council of Europe human rights protection and monitoring system, system of parliamentary control, oversight and role of state human rights institutions.

The publication titled Human Rights: A Handbook for Parliamentarians, published by the Inter-Parliamentary Union and United Nations High Commissariat for Human Rights and whose translation into Serbian and printing was helped by the OSCE Mission to Serbia, was presented at the conference.

The Conference was an occasion to commemorate the 120^th anniversary of Serbia’s membership at the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the International Day of Democracy.

Opening the conference on Human Rights and Parliamentarians, National Assembly Speaker Slavica Djukic-Dejanovic said that Serbia recognizes the importance of human rights which is evident in its legislative activity:

"Esteemed Excellencies,

Fellow parliamentarians,

Honoured guests,

By stepping out of the kingdom of liberties into a system of regulated relations, mankind set the cornerstones of social development and created the first states. Moving into democracy gave this first step its full meaning. We achieve the closest ties with this beginning when, by using our freedom, we celebrate another’s right; the notion of democracy reaches its full meaning when, using Voltaire’s words, the fight for people’s right to think differently becomes the purpose of our work.

And here we are today, at the House of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, where we met to talk about human rights; I am beyond pleased because we are, first and foremost, discussing this timeless topic at the supreme representative body in our country, and because we are gathered here for several excellent reasons.

Namely, the human rights conference is the National Assembly’s way to commemorate the International Day of Democracy – for the third time in a row. Since 2008 – when the United Nations General Assembly, at IPU's proposal, declared 15 September Democracy Day, the National Assembly has organised relevant activities to bring attention to the democratic heritage and values.

This year, the National Assembly commemorates its 120^th anniversary of joining the Inter-Parliamentary Union – the oldest and largest international parliamentary organisation in the world. The Inter-Parliamentary Union was founded in 1889 and is one of the oldest international organisations, which Serbia joined only two years after its establishment.

The goals the Inter-Parliamentary Union stands for represent the cornerstones of society: international peace, sustainable economic development, strengthening parliamentary democracy, rule of law, human and minority rights, equality of men and women, greater presence of women in public life, protection of the rights of children as the most vulnerable segment of society.

Serbia is proud of its history at the organisation so the presence of our dear friends and esteemed guests makes us all the more pleased and honoured. Therefore, allow me to extend special thanks to the esteemed IPU Secretary, Mr. Anders Johnson whose dedication marked the organisation’s work in previous years – for choosing to be here, in Belgrade, with us today.

And the publication before us, the Human Rights Handbook is part of the efforts to apply the proclaimed values in practice and achieve higher efficiency in the parliament’s work in the sphere of human rights.

The handbook is intended for parliamentarians, legitimate representatives of the people, who wish to expand their efforts on human rights protection and promotion.

It was published in 2005, by the Inter-Parliamentary Union and United Nations High Commissariat for Human Rights, and it contains proposals regarding what to do to ensure a tangible application of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We also owe today's meeting to our friends, the OSCE Mission to Serbia, which enabled the translation of the handbook, and whom I would like to thank for once again, as many times before, supporting the NARS activities.

Ladies and gentlemen, dear friends,

Human rights are the foundation of our civilisation from which we draw the strength to formulate cultural patterns and legal norms.

Serbia clearly recognizes the importance of human rights, which is evident in its legislative activity – primarily in the adoption of the Anti-Discrimination Law, Gender Equality Law and ratification of numerous international conventions, as well as foreign policy activities as regards accepting European principles on the road to European Union membership.

Serbian citizens are sensitive to many human rights issues particularly because of our people’s historic experience. In the name of the future which should bring closure to some of the open issues, I hope this gathering and the ideas we exchange here will be another covenant for the coming decades in which we shall build the world we live in on the foundations of democracy and human rights."